April 26
It is the first day following the spring equinox which cannot be Easter Sunday in Western Christianity. Events *1467 - The miraculous image of Our Lady of Good Counsel appears in Genazzano, Italy. *1478 - The Pazzi attack Lorenzo de' Medici and kill his brother Giuliano during High Mass in the Duomo of Florence. *1607 - English colonists of the Jamestown settlement make landfall at Cape Henry, Virginia. *1802 - Napoleon Bonaparte signs a general amnesty to allow all but about one thousand of the most notorious émigrés of the French Revolution to return to France, as part of a reconciliary gesture with the factions of the Ancien Regime and to eventually consolidate his own rule. *1805 - United States Marines captured Derne, Tripoli under the command of First Lieutenant Presley O'Bannon. *1865 - American Civil War: Confederate General Joseph Johnston surrenders his army to General William Tecumseh Sherman at the Bennett Place near Durham. * 1865 - Union cavalry troopers corner and shoot dead John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assassin, in Virginia. *1925 - Paul von Hindenburg defeats Wilhelm Marx in the second round of the German presidential election to become the first directly elected head of state of the Weimar Republic. *1933 - The Gestapo, the official secret police force of Nazi Germany, is established. *1937 - Spanish Civil War: Guernica, Spain is bombed by German Luftwaffe. *1942 - The worst mining accident in history kills 1,549 miners in an explosion at the Honkeiko Colliery, Manchuria. *1945 - World War II: Battle of Bautzen - last successful German tank-offensive of the war and last noteworthy victory of the Wehrmacht. *1946 - Father Divine, a controversial religious leader who claims to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement. *1954 - The Geneva Conference, an effort to restore peace in Indochina and Korea, begins. *1956 - First container ship left Port Newark, New Jersey for Houston, Texas *1962 - NASA's Ranger 4 spacecraft crashes into the Moon. *1963 - In Libya, amendments to the constitution transform Libya (United Kingdom of Libya) into one national unity (Kingdom of Libya) and allows for female participation in elections. *1964 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar merge to form Tanzania. *1986 - In Ukraine, a nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, creating the world's worst nuclear disaster. *1991 - Seventy tornadoes break out in the central United States. Before its end, Andover, would record the year's only F5 tornado (see Andover). *1992 - In Simi Valley, California, the LAPD police officers accused of excessive force in their severe beating of Rodney King, are found "not guilty". The verdict results in several days of riots in L.A. and smaller riots around the country. *1994 - A China Airlines Airbus A300-600R crashes at Nagoya Airport, Japan killing 264. *1994 - Physicists announce first evidence of the top quark subatomic particle. *2005 - Under international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29-year military domination of that country. Births * 121 - Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor (d. 180) * 570 - Muhammed, founder of Islam, according to the Shi'a sect. Other sources suggest April 20. *1538 - Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (d. 1600) *1564 - William Shakespeare, English poet and playwright (d. 1616) *1573 - Marie de' Medici, wife of Henry IV of France (d. 1642) *1648 - King Peter II of Portugal (d. 1706) *1662 - Maria Luisa of Orleans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1689) *1710 - Thomas Reid, Scottish philosopher (d. 1796) *1711 - David Hume, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1776) *1718 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (d. 1802) *1774 - Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist (d. 1853) *1785 - John James Audubon, French-American naturalist and illustrator (d. 1851) *1787 - Ludwig Uhland, German poet (d. 1862) *1798 - James Beckwourth, American explorer (d. 1867) * 1798 - Eugène Delacroix, French painter (d. 1863) *1801 - Ambrose Dudley Mann, American diplomat (d. 1889) *1804 - Charles Goodyear, American politician (d. 1876) *1812 - Alfred Krupp, German industrialist (d. 1887) *1822 - Frederick Law Olmsted, American landscape architect (d. 1903) *1826 - George Hull Ward, American general (d. 1863) * 1826 - Ambrose R. Wright, American Civil War General (d. 1872 *1856 - Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930) *1878 - Saint Rafael Guízar Valencia, Mexican Catholic bishop *1879 - Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959) *1886 - Ma Rainey, American singer (d. 1939) * 1886 - Ğabdulla Tuqay, Tatar poet (d. 1913) *1888 - Anita Loos, American writer (d. 1981) *1889 - Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951) *1893 - Draza Mihajlovic, Serbian WWII hero and war criminal (d. 1946) *1894 - Rudolf Hess, Nazi official (d. 1987) *1896 - Ernst Udet, WWI pilot and film actor, Luftwaffe officer (d. 1941) *1897 - Eddie Eagan, American sportsman (d. 1967) * 1897 - Douglas Sirk, German-born film director (d. 1987) *1898 - Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1984) * 1898 - John Grierson, Scottish filmmaker (d. 1972) *1900 - Charles Richter, American geophysicist (d. 1985) * 1900 - Hack Wilson, American baseball player (d. 1948) *1910 - Tomoyuki Tanaka, Japanese movie producer and creator of Godzilla (d. 1997) *1911 - Marianne Hoppe, German actress (d. 2002) *1912 - A. E. van Vogt, Canadian writer (d. 2000) *1914 - Bernard Malamud, American author (d. 1986) * 1914 - James W. Rouse, American investor (d. 1996) *1916 - Morris West, Australian writer (d. 1999) *1917 - I.M. Pei, Chinese-born architect * 1917 - Sal Maglie, baseball player (d. 1992) *1918 - Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (d. 2004) * 1918 - Stafford Repp, American actor (d. 1974) *1922 - Jeanne Sauvé, French Canadian politician (d. 1993) *1925 - Jørgen Ingmann, Danish musician *1926 - David Coleman, British TV sports broadcaster * 1926 - Michael Mathias Prechtl, German illustrator (d. 2003) *1932 - Michael Smith, English-born chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000) * 1932 - Francis Lai, French film music composer *1933 - Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, Puerto Rican activist (d. 2005) * 1933 - Carol Burnett, American comedian * 1933 - Arno Allan Penzias, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate *1938 - Duane Eddy, American musician * 1938 - Maurice Williams, American singer (The Zodiacs) *1940 - Giorgio Moroder, Italian composer * 1940 - Cliff Watson, English rugby league player *1941 - Claudine Clark, American R&B singer-composer * 1941 - John Mitchell, American composer *1942 - Claudine Auger, French actress * 1942 - Michael Kergin, Canadian diplomat * 1942 - Bobby Rydell, American singer *1943 - Gary Wright, American singer * 1943 - Peter Zumthor, Swiss architect *1944 - Amien Rais, Indonesian politician *1945 - Sylvain Simard, Quebec politician *1949 - Carlos Bianchi, Argentinian football player * 1949 - Jerry Blackwell, wrestler (d. 1995) * 1949 - Dominic Sena, American film director *1955 - Mike Scott, American baseball player *1956 - Koo Stark, American actress *1958 - Jeffrey Guterman, American mental health counselor *1959 - Thanassis Papakonstantinou, Greek singer and songwriter *1960 - Roger Taylor, English musician (Duran Duran) * 1960 - Steve Lombardozzi, American baseball player *1961 - Joan Chen, Chinese-born actress * 1961 - Anthony Cumia, American radio personality (The Opie and Anthony Show) * 1961 - Chris Mars, American rock drummer (The Replacements) *1962 - Colin Anderson, English footballer * 1962 - Debra Wilson, American actress and comedian *1963 - Jet Li, Chinese martial artist * 1963 - Colin Scotts, Australian-born NFL football player *1965 - Kevin James, American comedian *1966 - Yoshihiro Togashi, Mangaka who created YuYu Hakusho *1967 - Glen Jacobs, American professional wrestler *1970 - Melania Trump, Slovenian model * 1970 - Tionne Watkins, American singer (TLC) *1971 - Jay DeMarcus, American bassist (Rascal Flatts) *1972 - Kiko Narváez, Spanish footballer * 1972 - Jason Bargwanna, Australian racing driver *1973 - Chris Perry, English footballer *1974 - Adil Ray, British Asian presenter on the BBC Asian Network *1975 - Nathan "Joey" Jordison, American musician (Slipknot) * 1975 - Nerina Pallot, British singer *1976 - Vaclav Varada, Czech ice hockey player *1977 - Tom Welling, American actor *1978 - Avant, American R&B singer * 1978 - Joe Crede, American baseball player * 1978 - Peter Madsen, Danish soccer player *1979 - Janne Wirman, Finnish musician (Children of Bodom) * 1979 - Ariane Moffatt, Quebec singer and songwriter *1980 - Jordana Brewster, American actress * 1980 - Anna Mucha, Polish actress * 1980 - Channing Tatum, American actor *1981 - Matthieu Delpierre, French footballer * 1981 - Ms. Dynamite, English musician *1982 - Joanne Gobure, Nauruan poet * 1982 - Brock Gillespie, Professional Basketball Player *1983 - Jessica Lynch, American P.O.W. * 1983 - José María López, Argentine racing driver *1984 - Mija Martina, Bosnian singer * 1984 - Lee Humphrey, College basketball player *1987 - Jessica Lee Rose, American-born actress *1995 - Prince Mirko of Bulgaria Deaths *1192 - Emperor Go-Shirakawa of Japan (b. 1127) *1444 - Robert Campin, Flemish painter (b. 1378) *1476 - Simonetta Vespucci, inspiration of Botticelli (b.1453) *1478 - Giuliano di Piero de' Medici, ruler of Florence (assassinated) (b. 1453) *1489 - Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (b. 1465) *1716 - John Somers, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1651) *1784 - Nano Nagle, Irish convent founder (b. 1718) *1789 - Count Petr Ivanovich Panin, Russian soldier (b. 1721) *1865 - John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin (shot) (b. 1838) *1881 - Ludwig Freiherr von und zu der Tann-Rathsamhausen, German general (b. 1815) *1892 - Sir Provo Wallis, British Admiral and naval hero (b. 1791) *1910 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author, Nobel laureate (b. 1832) *1920 - Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (b. 1887) *1932 - William Lockwood, English cricketer (b. 1868) *1938 - Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (b. 1859) *1940 - Carl Bosch, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1874) *1944 - Violette Morris, French athlete (b. 1893) *1945 - Pavlo Skoropadsky, Ukrainian politician and general (b. 1871) * 1945 - Sigmund Rascher, Nazi doctor (b. 1909) *1950 - G. Murray Hulbert, American politician (b. 1881) *1951 - Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (b. 1868) *1956 - Edward Arnold, American actor (b. 1890) *1957 - Gichin Funakoshi, Father of Japanese Shotokan Karatedo (b. 1868) *1964 - E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet born Newfoundland (b. 1882) *1969 - Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist and founder of aikido (b. 1883) *1970 - Erik Bergman, Lutheran pastor (b. 1886) * 1970 - Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress (b. 1911) *1973 - Irene Ryan, American actress (b. 1902) *1976 - Sid James, British comedian (b. 1913) *1981 - Jim Davis, American actor (b. 1909) *1984 - Count Basie, American musician and composer (b. 1904) *1986 - Broderick Crawford, American actor (stroke) (b. 1911) * 1986 - Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (b. 1899) * 1986 - Bessie Love, American actress (b. 1898) *1987 - John Ernest Silkin, British politician (b. 1923) *1987 - Shankar, Of Noted Bollywood Music Director Duo Shankar-Jaikishan (b. 1922) *1989 - Lucille Ball, American actress and comedian (b. 1911) *1991 - Leo Arnaud, French-American composer (b. 1904) * 1991 - Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910) * 1991 - Emily McLaughlin, American actress (b. 1928) * 1991 - Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician (b. 1931) *1996 - Stirling Silliphant, American writer and producer (b. 1918) *1999 - Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (b. 1957) * 1999 - Jill Dando, British television presenter (b.1961) *2003 - Rosemary Brown, Canadian politician (b. 1930) * 2003 - Max Nicholson, Irish environmentalist (b. 1904) * 2003 - Peter Stone, American writer (b. 1930) *2004 - Hubert Selby Jr., American author (b. 1928) *2005 - Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919) * 2005 - Maria Schell, Swiss-Austrian actress (b. 1926) * 2005 - Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan author (b. 1917) *2007 - Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive (b. 1921) Holidays and observances * Tanzania - Union Day. * Florida and Georgia, USA - Confederate Memorial Day. * World Intellectual Property Day (since 2001). Liturgical feasts In the Roman Catholic Church: *Our Lady of Good Counsel (1467) *Saint Alda (d. 1309) *Richarius or Riquier (d. 643) *Paschasius (d. 865) *Saint Cletus (Pope Anacletus) and Marcellinus (Popes and martyrs) *Lucidius (4th century) *Trudpert (Irish monk martyred in Germany in 607). In the Russian Orthodox Church: *Stephen of Perm - also Old Permic Alphabet Day External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:April